MEDIA RELEASE May 2, 2005
For Immediate Release
Luke’s Place Holds Information Session
Oshawa – Today, Luke’s Place held a key information
session at the Oshawa Public Library and invited the Hon.
Madame Justice M.A.C. Scott, Deborah Sinclair and Rita Benson
to address the assembled audience on the issue of woman abuse
and family law. Before the discussions began, Bruce Wright
from the Ontario Trillium Foundation congratulated the local
group on the work they’ve accomplished since receiving
their one-year, $75,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation
last May.
| “Addressing the issue of abuse against women is
paramount. As a knowledgeable, forward thinking society
we should be doing all we can to educate ourselves and
eliminate these occurrences,” said Jerry Ouellette,
MPP for Oshawa. “This funding will assist in getting
the message out and supporting the victims of these violations.” |
The funds from the Ontario Trillium Foundation were used
to develop a multi-year strategic plan to enable the organization
to continue delivering their support services for abused women
who are faced with custody and access issues. The grant money
has been used to cover some salary costs and administration
expenses. Though located in Oshawa, Luke’s Place offers
assistance to women throughout Durham Region and is operated
with two staff and more than 15 volunteers.
Luke’s Place is the first support and resource centre
of its kind in Canada which focuses specifically on supporting
woman abuse survivors and their children with family law issues,
particularly custody and access issues. The Centre offers
information, support, referral, legal preparation and accompaniment
to court and lawyers’ appointments. A comprehensive
library is housed within the agency, offering resources to
women and their advocates.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Ministry
of Culture, receives annually $100 million of government funding
generated through Ontario's charity casino initiative. The
Foundation allocates grants to eligible charitable and not-for-profit
organizations in the arts and culture, environment, human
and social services, and sports and recreation sectors. For
more information, visit www.trilliumfoundation.org.
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For more information, please contact:
Carol Barkwell Jerry Ouellette, MPP
Luke’s Place Support and Resource Centre Oshawa
905-728-0978 905-723-2411
|
